Panamanian Cinema

The Panamanian film industry like its other Central American counterparts has a very scarce history up until the 21st Century. That being said some historical evidence shows that the first film shown in what was Panama in 1897 in an open area. In the past ten years Panamanian cinema has consistently released at least one film every year.

After Panama separated from Columbia in 1903 the United States began to have a strong cultural influence on the nation. Interestingly the majority of films in motion that came from Panama were made by the American Army.

Carlos Luis Nieto, a Costa Rican made the first short fiction film of Panamá in 1946, titled, “Al calor de mi bohío.” It was made in Santiago de Veraguas. Few films followed after this as the country lacked the necessary investment and knowledge of cinema production. Ladislao Sosa a Panamanian who studied film in Mexico attempted to develop the film industry in his own country creating film schools. From these schools, films such as “El misterio de la passion,” in1954 by Padre Ramón María Condomines were produced. During the 60’s directors such as Enoch Castillero focused on factual documentaries covering the tragic events of January 9th 1964.

Advances in cinematography through the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s lead to the creation of the Law of Cinema in 2007 in Panama. This was seen as an attempt to give some sort of stability and credibility to previously unrecognized and struggling Panamanian directors. This move was largely due to the notable productions of "One Dollar (El precio de la vida)" in 2001 by Héctor Herrera, “La noche” in 2002 by Joaquín Carrasquilla and “Los camisones de mi vieja” in 2005 by Dylan Arias.